Planning your European nightlife

by Anna Brones on

Despite the low dollar, some of us still have European summer adventures on the horizon. And just because the economy is in a rut, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t focus on fabulous things to do across the Atlantic. This weekend, the New York Times put together a set of 10 articles on things to do after midnight in various European cities. I tend to like the New York Times Travel section, but I really enjoyed this compilation of articles which takes us from hip billiards in Paris to 24 hour bookstores in Moscow to a tram-based nightclub in Prague.

The ten cities covered are:
Athens
Barcelona
Berlin
Copenhagen
Lisbon
London
Moscow
Paris
Prague
Venice

Go here to discover more of Europe’s after-midnight adventures, and then start scrounging for euros.

What Northwest Airlines wrote to me

by Jamie Rhein on

As a person with oodles of frequent-flier miles, you can bet when I read about Northwest’s merger with Delta our miles flashed before my eyes and headed down a drain until I mentally fished them out. Should we book that flight to Copenhagen, Denmark even though we’re holding out for Asia next summer?

When I headed to my in-box, there was an e-mail from Northwest Airlines telling me not to worry about my World Perks miles and Elite status. They are safe and will not be affected by the merger. The message also pointed out that this merger will give me more options to use those miles because of the increase of the routes and the global reach. What I want is for them to fly to Vietnam.

I’m glad that Northwest sent me a warning along with the time frame of when changes could occur. It does make me feel part of Northwest’s radar–like possibly they care. Letting customers know what is going on is key in today’s uncertain world. It instills confidence and keeps customers coming back.

A few year’s ago, when we were flying Northwest to Taiwan and had to be rerouted to Honolulu due to engine failure, we were told what was going on during each step. It was clear that Northwest was prepared to make sure that we were comfortable and happy. The engine trouble resulted in a two-night stay at the Sheraton Waikiki with vouchers for breakfast and dinner–not too shabby. United Airlines lost my business because when the same thing happened on a flight from L.A. to Singapore, we were treated terribly. I have yet to forgive them.

Despite the e-mail, I’m not quite comfortable because our mile accumulation is a hefty amount that I’d hate to lose. I’m the type that hoards for a better day. That day might be now. I’ve started looking into that Denmark trip just in case. As Grant also wrote, better play it safe to not be sorry later.

Oslo, London and Copenhagen: The world’s three most expensive cities

by Anna Brones on

If you’re planning a trip to Europe in the near future, you may want to consider the recent study conducted by Swiss bank UBS which ranked 71 world cities according to their costliness. Oslo, London and Copenhagen made the top three with Dublin coming in at a close fourth.

Thanks to a weak dollar, US cities like New York — which made the 18th spot — have moved down on the list compared to last year’s; in fact , compared to the same study in 2006, London was noted as 26% more expensive than the Big Apple. In Asia, Tokyo ranked the most expensive followed by Seoul, Singapore and Hong Kong.

So where do you go if you want the biggest bang for your buck? Kuala Lumpur, Buenos Aires, or Mumbai, which ranked the three cheapest cities for visitors.

Hotels for art lovers

by Anna Brones on

Last time I went to San Francisco I was happy to come across Hotel des Arts, a well-priced boutique hotel. I am normally a hostel-goer, so anytime I can branch out and have my own room it’s cause for celebration. Despite Hotel des Arts being an actual hotel, I was even more excited about its use of art as interior design. The hotel hired a San Francisco gallery owner, John Doffing, to curate the hotel and he brought in work by every type of artist from graffiti taggers to professional illustrators. The end product is a hotel full of color and life, and a look into the local San Francisco art scene, all without even leaving the hotel doors; I was hooked.

Budget Travel just published their own list of Art Hotels; places to stay where you can rest assured that your room won’t be painted in white. On the list:

Hotel des Arts, San Francisco
The Winston, Amsterdam
Art Luise Kunsthotel, Berlin
Daddy Long Legs, Cape Town
Hotel Fox, Copenhagen

To read descriptions of these and other hotels and their artistic rooms and settings go here. You might be so inspired you won’t even make it to the surrounding museums.

The World’s Most Expensive Cities

by Justin Glow on

Mercer, a human resource consulting company, has compiled a list of the most expensive cities in the world based on a cost of living survey which “measures the comparative cost of over 200 items” in each city. Two years in a row Moscow has topped the list, followed by London, Seoul, and Tokyo. Here’s the top 10:

  1. Moscow
  2. London
  3. Seoul
  4. Tokyo
  5. Hong Kong
  6. Copenhagen
  7. Geneva
  8. Osaka
  9. Zürich
  10. Oslo

Most of the locations on the list were in Europe, taking thirty of the fifty spots, with six in the top 10. New York and L.A. are the only two from the United States in the top fifty. For the full list, head to Mercerhr.com. [via]

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